Trucking news and briefs for Friday, April 11, 2025:
Bill to block speed limiters back in Congress
A bill introduced in the previous legislative session that would block the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from requiring speed limiters on trucks has resurfaced.
Reintroduced by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma), the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act would prohibit FMCSA from issuing “any rule or regulation to require vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds operating in interstate commerce to be equipped with a speed limiting device set to a maximum speed.”
Speed limiters resurfaced under the Biden Administration after having been put on the regulatory backburner during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
“Under the Biden Administration, we saw blatant overreach that would have required speed-limiters as low as 60 mph for heavy-duty trucks,” Brecheen said. “For example, if a rancher is transporting tractors across state lines, under this rule, the federal government would require a speed limiter device when above 26,000 lbs. I have spent years driving a semi hauling heavy equipment and years in different ranch vehicles hauling livestock and farm equipment. Safety is enhanced in keeping with the flow of traffic as set by state law, not on a one-size-fits-all regulation enforced by bureaucrats in Washington. The DRIVE Act will ensure a future administration cannot revive this dangerous rule.”
[Related: 'Bad for road safety': Coalition wants Trump to abandon federal speed-limiter mandate effort]
A coalition of owner-operator- and small-business-focused trucking organizations, who urged the Trump administration early this year abandon FMCSA's current efforts around speed limiters, have come out in support of Brecheen’s bill.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said speed limiters would increase “interactions between vehicles" on-highway, "leading to more crashes. It would be like an obstacle course for passenger vehicle drivers on our highways.”
David Owen, President of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, echoed Spencer’s sentiment.
“Mandating speed limiters on commercial vehicles would increase speed differentials between cars and trucks, increase traffic density, and increase impatience and risky driving by those behind a plodding truck,” Owen said. “Mandatory speed limiters would likely cost more lives and cause more accidents and injuries.”
[Related: 68 mph? FMCSA backtracks after 'inaccurate' reveal of speed-limiter intentions]
Three arrested in Kentucky for allegedly stealing diesel for trucking business
The Montgomery County (Kentucky) Sheriff’s Office recently arrested three individuals who they say perpetrated a large-scale diesel theft, resulting in a loss of over $18,000.
According to an MCSO Facebook post, the suspects allegedly used an electronic device to access the fuel from the pumps without paying for it. Through the investigation, it was discovered that the three suspects were allegedly stealing the fuel to support an over-the-road trucking business.
Those arrested were:
- Yordano Solis, 32, Louisville, Kentucky
- Lionnis Perez, 30, Louisville, Kentucky
- Dariel Montero, 31, Portland, Oregon
They were each charged with Engaging in Organized Crime-Criminal Syndicate; and Theft by Unlawful Taking or Disposition, $10,000-$1,000,000.
[Related: Card-skimming, diesel theft ring busted in Florida]
